Reform UK has launched its 2024 general election manifesto today, promising to make a series of tax cuts and public sector reforms, after overtaking the Conservatives in a poll last week.
The minimum income tax threshold would be raised from £12,600 to £20,000, meaning 7 million people would pay no income tax, while the higher rate threshold would be increased from £50,000 to £70,000.
The party, of which Nigel Farage became leader earlier this month, promises to make public sector savings of more than £90bn. Reforms promised within the first 100 days include scrapping “unnecessary” government quangos and commissions, making 5% savings across departments “without touching frontline services”, and stopping the Bank of England paying interest to commercial banks on QE reserves.
Election manifestos
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Lib Dems unveil 2024 election manifesto
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A YouGov poll on Friday put Reform UK on 19%, ahead of the Tories on 18%. Labour remained in the lead on 37%, with the Liberal Democrats on 14%.
Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Farage said there needed to be a proper voice of opposition: “Our plan is to establish that bridgehead in Parliament and to use that voice to build a big, national campaigning movement around the country over the course of the next five years for genuine change.”
Reform’s “Our Contract with You”, launched today in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, says it would free 1.2 million small and medium-sized businesses from corporation tax, lifting the minimum profit threshold to £100,000, and reducing the rate from 25% to 20% initially, and to 15% after three years.
It would also abolish IR35 rules and lift the VAT threshold to £120,000.
As announced earlier this month, Reform would also introduce an employer immigration tax, charging 20% national insurance for foreign workers, compared with 13.8% for British nationals. It would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and send illegal immigrants to British Overseas Territories for processing.
Farage added: “Our argument is, if you’re telling the pollsters now you want to vote Labour because you’re disgusted with the Tories, have a look at what we’ve got to say.
“We’re on your side, we’re unashamedly patriotic, and we believe that immigration, the exploding population, should be the major issue in this election.”
On the NHS, Reform plans to cut waiting lists to zero within two years, It would “transform doctor and nurse availability” by cutting basic rate tax for frontline NHS and social care staff to zero for three years; use independent healthcare capacity; and introduce 20% tax relief on private healthcare and medical insurance.
Reform would also end training caps for medical students, and write off student fees pro rata per year over 10 years of NHS service for all doctors, nurses and medical staff.
A Reform government would boost police recruitment to increase UK police numbers from 235 to 300 per 100k population, equivalent to 40,000 new front-line officers, over a five-year Parliament, and it would also recruit 30,000 people into the army.
In education, Reform would introduce the option of two-year undergraduate courses, reducing student debt and allowing earlier entry into employment, and increase the number of technical courses and apprenticeships. It would also introduce tax relief for businesses offering apprenticeships.
Jobseekers would face a “two-strike rule” meaning that they would have to find employment within four months or accept a role after two job offers, or face their benefits being withdrawn.
Reform would legislate to scrap EU regulations with immediate effect. It would rescind more than 6,700 retained EU laws, including employment law.
Other policies include scrapping equality, diversity and inclusion rules and replacing the Equality Act 2010, making St George’s Day and St David’s Day public holidays, and reviewing pension provisions.
Reaction to the Reform manifesto
Carl Emmerson, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “Even with the extremely optimistic assumptions about how much economic growth would increase, the sums in this manifesto do not add up. Whilst Reform’s manifesto gives a clear sense of priority, a government could only implement parts of this package, or would need to find other ways to help pay for it, which would mean losers not specified.”
Kate Palmer, employment services director at Peninsula, said: “There are some significant statements here, but overall the Reform party manifesto is lacking in detail – it’s a quarter of the size when compared to the other main political parties.
“For example, the manifesto states that Reform would make it easier to hire and fire, but it isn’t clear how this would work in practice. It also states that they would replace the Equality Act 2010, but there is no information on what exactly they plan to replace it with.
“From the limited information that we do have, it appears that if the Reform Party were to win the general election, employers would be impacted by these proposals, but more information is needed to fully understand exactly how.”
Dave Chaplin, CEO of contracting authority ContractorCalculator said that Parliament has increasingly attracted career politicians resulting in a dearth of experienced business people who understand what is happening on the ground.
“The lack of firsthand experience may go some way to explaining why the Conservatives enacted the most damaging policies to small business and the self-employed in a decade in the shape of the off-payroll working rules – simply because they were out of touch.
“The Reform party doesn’t appear to have that same problem, and their ambitious pro-growth economic policies speak to the small business community, which is the lifeblood of the UK. It makes a refreshing change.
“The Department for Business and Trade statistics shows that 99.9% of UK businesses are small or medium. There are 4.1 million businesses with no employees in the UK. The Conservative party abandoned and excluded small businesses during the Covid pandemic, and damaged one-man companies with its punishing IR35 Reforms.
“The Reform party is appealing directly to them, with attractive policies that pledge to reverse the damage heaped on them by the current incumbent government. It is no surprise that Reform is stealing votes from the Conservatives.”
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